


in the arms of the warmest colour

by sternenrotz



Series: broken hearts hurt but they make us strong (queer horror verse) [7]
Category: The Horrors (Band)
Genre: Asexual Character, Discussion of Children, Gen, Late Night Conversations, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-07
Updated: 2015-08-07
Packaged: 2018-04-13 13:05:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4523178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sternenrotz/pseuds/sternenrotz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Josh can't sleep, and soon enough, neither can Faris.</p>
            </blockquote>





	in the arms of the warmest colour

**Author's Note:**

> titled after "Leaving Nara" by alt-J.
> 
> set in 2012, or more precisely, after the 2012 NME Awards (or: that time Josh and Faris couldn't keep their hands off each other).
> 
> the usual: Faris is ace and agender, Josh's gender is a label-resistant mess, and they've got a weird platonic hatemate relationship going on. also, somewhat less relevant to the plot, Joe is a trans boy and Rhys is a trans girl and her chosen name is Dilys.

Faris' bed was definitely _not_ made to have five people in it.  Josh firmly decides that's the case when Joe's foot that's made its way between eir thighs nudges em in the crotch for the sixth time. Ey's been counting.

Right behind em, Dilys squirms in her sleep and pokes em with her shoulder. Or maybe her chin or her collarbone. One of the many parts of her that are pointy. The sweat that's blanketing most of them, seeped into the sheets and even in the air, that's sticking them together where Dilys is halfway pressed against eir back, tits soft and smushy. Then she mumbles something in her sleep, and also right against Josh's neck by association.

Really, Josh is jealous, more than anything else, jealous that it's fuck-o'clock in the morning and ey’s starting to feel not drunk any more and ey’s the only one who isn't sleeping like a baby.

But ey's also disgusted when Dilys drawls something that vaguely sounds like "What, try both hands?"

Because, really. If there's _one_ detail of  Dilys and Joe's sex life ey ever wanted to not know about. That's definitely it.

Dhys drools onto eir bare skin and, right, that is it, Josh slinks away from her grip and snuggles emself tighter into Faris' side instead. Much better.

Faris is quiet and pleasant, and they don't drool or talk in their sleep or shove their body parts into other people's genitals. Less sticky than Dilys, only slightly from everyone else’s sweat that somehow rubbed onto them, and also, far less obnoxious than Dilys. Josh does feel kind of bad for misappropriating their bed of all places for an orgy. But then, Faris had been the one to offer their place on the way back, so they probably knew what they were getting into. And Rachel’s out of town for the weekend so Josh doesn’t have to feel bad for soiling _her_ sheets, either. Also, on the other hand, ey  finds the curve of their belly underneath the duvet and snuggles into the warm hollow under their neck. Smells like sweat, like the rest of the room, but also like Faris' skin and their cologne. Like Faris in general, and Josh hopes that maybe that'll help em drift off and sniffs them in delight.

That’s when Faris rumbles out, “What’re you doing?” and, well.

Josh certainly wasn’t expecting that. “I‘m smelling you.”

“Well, stop doing it. I smell gross.”

“Less gross than anyone else in here.”

Faris makes a sound through their nose that isn’t really a laugh. “Still. Want to shower.”

“You’re not gonna shower now. You’re going back to sleep ‘cause I need you.”

“For what?”

“Experiments.” Josh strokes their belly some more, always marvelling how unexpectedly _soft_ that part of them is, and ey says, “No, but I need something to cuddle. ‘cause I can’t sleep.”

“Yeah, well. I could sleep until you started breathing on my neck.”

“‘m sorry.” Really, Josh’s not sorry at all. Ey also preses eir nose into Faris’ skin and inhales them extra deeply for the sake of it. “I couldn’t sleep ‘cause I had Di’s pointy bits in my back and Joe’s foot in my cunt.”

“Gross.”

“Not actually in there.”

“I figured that much,” Faris says.

Josh can feel them breathing at the top of their head just vaguely. Which, honestly, is also gross.

“Still, you don’t know where he’s had his feet.”

“I don’t want to know,” Josh says. Ey nudges deeper into Faris’ side and feels that despite the sweaty air and the heat trapped under the duvet, they’re just the pleasant kind of hot to the touch. “You’re so _warm_ ,” ey points out.

Josh half-expects Faris to come back with a half-arsed snarky remark, but rather than that, they just wrap their arm around Josh’s waist and hold em tight like that.

“You’re like a human hot water bottle.”

“‘cause I’m warm?”

“‘cause you’re making me sleepy when I hold you.” Josh nuzzles eir face against Faris’ collarbone and says, “Love it, Bird.”

Faris makes that tiny not-quite-laughter noise again and strokes over Josh’s side.

They’re quiet after that, but not the serene slow-breaths _sleeping_ quiet just yet. Josh can’t quite bring emself to let go and drift off, either.

“Bird?” ey asks after a little while, when the silence interspersed with the sound of _someone’s_ slow snores is becoming tedious. “You’re still awake, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve a question.” Ey has to pause to move in that little bit closer, seeking the warmth Faris radiates. “‘m sorry if this’s rude or whatever.”

“Just ask it the rude way.”

“Is it… Is this weird for you?” ey asks. “I mean, having your friends have an orgy right in your bed which you’re not invited to.” Josh clears eir throat and adds, “Well, it‘s not one you’re not invited to. Just one that’s going on but you don’t wanna come.”

“It’s not,” Faris says back. “Not weird for me at all. I mean, it’s better than being forced to participate.”

“True.” Josh struggles with the duvet for a second, where it’s somehow slipped down to past eir shoulder, and ey says, “I was just wondering, ‘cause it wasn’t… not a regular orgy, you know, it was a celebration and it was weird that you weren’t celebrating with us.”

Maybe ey sounds a little bit too whiny when ey says the last part, because Faris just laughs at em, a real, quiet laugh.

“Josh. We won a stupid award that’s shaped like it’s going to end up in Joe’s toy drawer sooner or later, and there was a ceremony and an after party.”

“Still. It‘s just the principle.”

“I meant that’s more than enough celebration without the sex.”

Josh cackles in response, or maybe that’s more because Faris decided to go for the ticklish spot on eir side.

“And I’d rather just draw and wait until you lot stop making noises than do anything else, and now we’re all in the same bed and tomorrow someone’s going to make us all breakfast. So it’s not like I’m being excluded from it.”

“That’s nice,” Josh says, both for lack of anything better to say, and because ey genuinely means it. “How d’you feel right now, Bird?”

“Asides from disgustingly sweaty and tired?” Faris asks back. “Safe. I feel safe, and I feel really loved.”

“Gross,” Josh automatically says back.

Although ey’s got to admit, _loved_ is a pretty accurate word for that fuzzy feeling of content in the pit of eir belly that’s behind the overwhelming tiredness. Faris is so warm next to em, the blanket like a cocoon binding them together, or maybe a womb.

“D’you think we should have kids?”

“What?”

“You and me, children. Together?”

“Yeah, I got that much,” Faris says. “I was wondering if you’re just saying this ‘cause you’re drunk, or…”

“I‘m not really drunk anymore,” Josh argues. “I’m serious. I’ve been thinking about having kids someday.”

“What d’you mean by someday?”

“Like distant future someday. Ten years or so.”

“Okay.”

“And I’ve already promised my first child to Tom, but I’m just saying, biologically. We could.”

“Test tube babies.”

“Naturally.” Josh rubs a circle over Faris’ belly once again, because it’s there and because it only seems appropriate with the subject matter. “Just imagine me pregnant. I’d be a disaster.”

“Yeah,” Faris says. “Yeah, actually, why not.”

Josh does wonder if they’re just too tired, but ey nuzzles eir face into Faris’ neck once more instead of a proper reply.

“Just promise me you won’t name our child after Thurston Moore or something.”

“I’ve got Thurston reserved for the future Tom-Josh spawn.”

Faris laughs at em, low and short again, and what’s Josh to do but laugh along and drape emself further over Faris’ body.

That’s when a voice comes from behind them, “What’re you guys talking about?” It’s Joe, naturally, his voice slurry and rough with sleepiness.

“We’re talking about how Josh wants to have queer babies with as many members of the band as possible.”

“Beautiful queer musically inclined babies,” Josh adds.

“Dark-haired queer introvert babies with unreasonably large noses,” Faris finishes.

“Basically.”

“You know I’m just imagining if you two had children, what would happen when your kids first start making friends in school.” That’s Dilys, sounding about as rough as Joe does.

“How long have you guys been awake?” Josh asks.

“Couple of minutes,” Joe says.

“Since I realised you moved away from me.” From behind Josh comes a noise vaguely like a pillow being rustled, and then Dilys says, “But I just pictured this little kid asking yours what their mummy and daddy do, and your kid just says, _I don’t have one of those_.”

And she laughs, sickly and sleepy-sounding, and Josh can’t help but to snort out a loud giggle into Faris’ skin.

“You know,” Joe says, “If being trans is actually in any way genetic your kids are going to end up so confused.”

“I just kind of figured it would cancel each other out since I’ve got no gender and Josh has every gender.”

“My gender’s the quiet feeling of dread you get when you’ve been out of your flat for several hours and then you realise you forgot to lock the door,” Josh says, and ey delivers it completely deadpan to eir own surprise.

“So maybe you’ll just have regular queer introvert children instead of extremely confused ones,” Dilys says.

“I hope so,” Josh says. Ey rolls onto eir back, not sure at this point whether ey’s on the verge of passing out or not tired at all anymore, and for want of an answer, ey squeezes eir own tit.

“I want tea,” Joe says.

Maybe that’s what Josh wants too. At least to keep em awake and stop eir throat from feeling like it’s been sandpapered on the inside.

“Yeah,” ey says. “Di? Bird? Want to get up and make tea?”

“Might as well get dressed and have a cuppa since I’m already up,” Dilys says.

“Let’s have a cuppa and get out of this filth,” Faris adds in their weird tone of voice. “Which one of you is gonna wake Tom?”


End file.
